For someone who is known as the 'Quiet Man', Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has been making a lot of noise since his dramatic entry on to the world stage.
A week ago, the 43-year-old lawyer was largely unknown outside Spain. That was before the Socialist Workers' Party he heads sprung a surprise victory in the general election.
Since then, Mr Zapatero has been voicing some harsh criticism of Spain's supposed allies - the United States and Britain.
In the wake of the Madrid bombings, only three days before the elections, Spanish voters turned away from the ruling Popular Party, which had expected another four years in office.
The latter's insistence that Basque separatist group ETA was to blame for the 202 deaths in the explosions on suburban trains and in railway stations had seemed more desperate and more hollow as the hours passed. And as suspicions that the government sought to suppress news of al-Qaeda's alleged involvement leaked out, the electorate - already aggrieved at Spain's involvement in the war in Iraq - took a left turn.
Mr Zapatero had refused to make capital out of the Popular Party's stance on ETA, provoking renewed criticism that he was too soft and too naive. But the public backed him and his party, and though the socialist party does not hold an overall majority, Mr Zapatero will be sworn in as Spain's new prime minister within the month.